Historically regarded as a nation reluctant to let go of its bricks-and-mortar shopping experience, COVID-19 has changed the way we live and shop. As identified in the recent McKinsey Consumer Pulse report Australians have caught up with the rest of the Asia-Pacific region shifting to a greater digital focused lifestyle across all areas –social, business, shopping and health.
Two significant areas of increased digital behaviour where Australians are using them for the first time:
– Videoconferencing -6% Australians using for the first time
– Telemedicine -11% of Australians using for the first time
And whilst the Australian level of online commerce is behind that of the US or Europe, “the gap is closing fast”, says McKinsey. Online shopping satisfaction levels continue to rise, with 60% of surveyed grocery shoppers saying they have been “very satisfied” with the experience.
(Source: McKinsey & Co COVID-19 Australia Consumer Pulse Survey 5 2020)
What trends are emerging now?
According to Kantar’s Barometer of April 23-28:
Two-thirds of Australians are focusing a lot more attention on pricing and provenance. The November -January bushfires crisis highlighted how important supporting local business was to Australians (think BuyFromTheBush), and out of that an increased awareness of local sustainability. COVID-19 has further deepened Australian’s localism depth of feeling:
– “67% of Aussies now favour buying locally-produced goods and services with 43% paying more attention to product origin–a 7% increase in sentiment from the end of March.Provenance is even more important to households with children with half (49%) now focussed on purchasing products of home grown origin.”
– “One-third (36%) of Aussies are wanting brands to consider domestic production capabilities, while a quarter are worried about the safety risk from products shipped from abroad, which again reinforces the valueof provenance.”
– News Corps June 1 2020 COVID Files also supports the focus on local with 84% of Australians saying they prefer to shop and buy from local retailers, and 83% are happy to pay more for Australian products
Timely then, is the new promotional initiative from Australian Made, with a new tagline: It’s never been more important to buy Australian than right now”
Roy Morgan research identifies:
– 84% associate the Australian Made logo with supporting local jobs and employment
– 50+% associate the logo with products that are of high quality and produced using ethical labour
With increased consumer awareness of Australia’s reliance of overseas manufacturing, the campaign seeks to impact the purchasing decisions of all Australians and is running across broadcast channels -TV, radio, out-of-home, print, online and social media.
Considerations: Australian brands stepping back into market now and looking to benefit from the increased ecommerce marketplace need to focus on delivering an online customer experience that is simple, fluid, with Made In Australia messaging prominent
Doing the dairy
An example of a brand focusing on its Australian heritage and dialing up the Australian Made story is Dairy Farmers. 100% Australian owned by Australian dairy farmers for 107 years, in November 2019,China’s Mengniu Dairy purchased Dairy Farmers’ parent company Lion Dairy & Drinks from Kirin. In a new campaign running across Facebook, Instagram, OOH and digital, “Here’s To Good” features three families from NSW and QLD telling their history of generational heritage in the business.
L is for #LOCALBUSINESS
Also focusing on Australian business, Instagram has launched a new website that features local trends, case studies and statistics called House of Instagram. The site aims to connect local business owners and leaders across creative and advertising industries to the latest Instagram resources. Featured on the site are ways Australians are using Instagram to support local businesses, guides for brand building, tips for using Stories and success stories
https://business.instagram.com/blog/how-australians-are-staying-connected-during-covid-19/
https://business.instagram.com/success/not-a-model/
Considerations: with significantly increased levels of social media consumption seen across multiple demographics, social platforms offer cost efficient opportunities for brands looking to reconnect with their customer base and drive post-lockdown awareness and engagement messaging.
Paykel Media’s client service and digital teams are across current market shifts and look forward to working with you to navigate the next steps through the changing COVID marketplace.
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